Quick 7 speed / 8speed question.

MartinM said:

The winter months are doing their damndest to break my audax/winter
bike so I'm thinking of upgrading it and lobbing all the old bits on a
winter hack frame, This will probably involve changing to 8 speed with
new wheels/shifters etc as 7 speed is becoming rare is rocking horse
manure. Before I start losing several pairs of shifters on ebay; will a
new 8 speed wheel fit the frame?

Dunno about Campag but Shimano 8 speed is wider than 7 speed. However
you could do the old 8 from 9 on 7 trick and use modern 9 speed stuff
to get 8 speeds with a wheel and frame designed for 7. Sheldon Brown
will tell you how to do it. I have done this on my tourer but I am
think about going to 7 speed as it lasts much longer and IME is easier
to set up.

MSeries said:

MartinM said:

The winter months are doing their damndest to break my audax/winter
bike so I'm thinking of upgrading it and lobbing all the old bits on a
winter hack frame, This will probably involve changing to 8 speed with
new wheels/shifters etc as 7 speed is becoming rare is rocking horse
manure. Before I start losing several pairs of shifters on ebay; will a
new 8 speed wheel fit the frame?

Dunno about Campag but Shimano 8 speed is wider than 7 speed. However
you could do the old 8 from 9 on 7 trick and use modern 9 speed stuff
to get 8 speeds with a wheel and frame designed for 7. Sheldon Brown
will tell you how to do it. I have done this on my tourer but I am
think about going to 7 speed as it lasts much longer and IME is easier
to set up.

The frame's only 4 years old so in theory should take 8. Agree about 7
speed being easier to set up; had no end of probs with my 8 speed Rx100
until I put a bigger cassette on, whereas the 7 speed RSX is easy as
pie to set up. I've currently got a bid in on some 7 RSX's which will
no doubt go for more than my bid. I can't find non-sora STI's with less
than 9 speed new, plus I don't like new Shimano with its chunky levers
and plastic bodies, even Ultegra which I used on holiday seems very
cheap n nasty (and no I'm not going over to Campag as my thumbs are on
the side of my hands!)

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

The winter months are doing their damndest to break my audax/winter
bike so I'm thinking of upgrading it and lobbing all the old bits on a
winter hack frame, This will probably involve changing to 8 speed with
new wheels/shifters etc as 7 speed is becoming rare is rocking horse
manure. Before I start losing several pairs of shifters on ebay; will a
new 8 speed wheel fit the frame?

It's a while since I did it as I now shuttle between 8 and 9 speed. However
the difference between 7 and 8 is small and I never found any difficulty in
using frames spaced for 7 with an 8. It might be a bit of a snug fit but
the stays bend enough to accommodate the extra width in my experience.

mikesbikes said:

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The winter months are doing their damndest to break my audax/winter
bike so I'm thinking of upgrading it and lobbing all the old bits on a
winter hack frame, This will probably involve changing to 8 speed with
new wheels/shifters etc as 7 speed is becoming rare is rocking horse
manure. Before I start losing several pairs of shifters on ebay; will a
new 8 speed wheel fit the frame?

It's a while since I did it as I now shuttle between 8 and 9 speed. However
the difference between 7 and 8 is small and I never found any difficulty in
using frames spaced for 7 with an 8. It might be a bit of a snug fit but
the stays bend enough to accommodate the extra width in my experience.

thanks, although looking at what's available even 8 spd is gonna be
hard to come by without resorting to (spits) Sora for changers. And as
for getting a new 7 spd rear wheel!
I shall experiment with swapping wheels between bikes.